All hands on deck at AAA: Even executives took drivers' calls for help in February

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On Feb. 16, Watertown claimed the bragging rights to the coldest place in the U.S. That morning, it was -36 degrees. In Syracuse, it was -17, a record for that day. And the phone was ringing off the hook at the AAA call centers.

That was the busiest day in a month of record-setting days, said Diana Dibble, a spokeswoman for the travel and roadside assistance membership group. That day, 457 people called for help with stuck cars, fender benders, dead batteries and more. An average February day in Syracuse, still no picnic, brings 221 calls for help each day.

This year, the average was far higher: 303 calls a day.

The entire month of February was all hands on deck at AAA, Dibble said. Any employee who could answer a phone was. Everyone, even the executives, have been taking calls from drivers in need of help.

The brutal cold and 105 inches of snow left 140,140 people calling for help in Central and Western New York in February - that's up 60 percent from the year before, Dibble said. (The total will be higher - that number is through Feb. 24).

Dibble said they've trained every extra worker they can to answer the phones, growing the pool of call-takers to 140 for the 25-county region. Some are working in offices in Liverpool and Amherst (outside of Buffalo). But some are working from their living room couches. AAA has also brought in some people from other regions to help.

So how long does it take to get help when the calls are coming in fast and furious? That all depends on how bad the situation is and where you are, Dibble said. If drivers are stuck out in the cold, they get put at the front of the line. If your battery is dead, but you're some place safe and warm, the wait could be several hours.